Martin Lynn Scholarship

The RHS makes an annual Martin Lynn Scholarship award to assist a postgraduate researcher of African history. We are delighted to announce that from 2016 the Scholarship will be worth £1,500.

Thanks to the generosity of the family of the late Martin Lynn, the RHS has established an annual award in his memory. Martin Lynn was Professor of African History in the Queen’s University, Belfast, the first scholar to hold a chair in African history in Ireland. His scholarly career was devoted to the history of West Africa and he published most extensively and importantly on the 19th and 20th century history of Nigeria. His scholarly achievements were matched by the reputation he enjoyed as an exciting and concerned teacher and a delightful, generous colleague and friend. This award reflects the interests of the man it commemorates.

In 2015 the Martin Lynn Scholarship was awarded to Lucy Taylor (University of Leeds) for her research on masculinities and violence in Acholiland, 1860 to the present day. In 2014 the Scholarship was awarded to George Roberts (University of Warwick) for his research on the Cold War in Dar es Salaam c.1964-1979. He writes:

I carried out a total of fifteen interviews, which provide crucial Tanzanian voices in a sub-field in which local voices are often marginalised, as archives elsewhere privilege foreign actors. The network of contacts I have built up in Tanzania stand me in good stead for carrying out future research in the country.”